within society normative variation

Reactive definition of deviance

deviance

any attitude, behavior, or condition considered to be a norm violation by public consensus (ranges from low to high); incorporates relativism (time and place matters), normative behavior (violation of norms on public consensus?) and reactive definition (response of audience)

Retreatism in terms of goals/means

Rebellion in terms of goals/means

Positivist Theory of Deviance: Learning theory

- explains how people end up into Merton's box
- differential association: techniques, motives, rationalizations, etc. for deviance can be learned through interactions with deviant; associations can vary with teacher

Constructionist theory of deviance

Constructionist theory of deviance: labeling theory

- deviance manifests in interaction between a deviant, the audience, and whatever the audience attributes to behavior
- those with power labels powerless
- focuses on what audience thinks/meanings audience give, not much what deviant does

Deviant identities

Strategies to manage deviant identities

Strategy of Deviant Identity Management: Secrecy

- deviant try to pass as normal by avoiding stigma symbols (clues that allow people to see deviance)
- use disidentifiers (status symbols that misdirects people to actual identity)
- identity substitution (substitute less deviant identity)